Lau’s Family Kitchen

Lau’s Family Kitchen

Keeping it in the family.

Some time I took my girl to The Flower Drum for a birthday lunch, and whilst difficult to fault on any level, it failed to achieve the lofty heights of my expectations, a view seemingly shared by the good people at The Age who recently de-throned The Flower Drum from the prestigious three-hatted club.

Curious I was then to try Lau’s Family Kitchen, the younger, cooler, and less formal version of the Flower Drum which Gilbert Lau headed up for near on three decades. In terms of atmosphere and aesthetic, the two are incomparable. Gone is the stuffiness of fine dining, and in is the more modern, friendlier and far, far cosier dining space of Lau’s.

Prawn and Scallop Dumplings

But the food retains that deft touch that reminds you how good Cantonese food can be. Beef in black bean sauce, where you can actually taste the beef. Tender, juicy strips of beef they were too, it had so little resemblance to the chewy nuggets I had come to associate beef in black bean sauce. Dumplings were silky and bursting with flavor, and the noodles possessed a subtlety not often found in Cantonese cooking in these parts.

Beef in Black Bean Sauce

Just as Gilbert Lau has rediscovered a new outlet for his culinary skills, so too will you discover Cantonese dishes vastly different to the norm.